glunn

It's been a long time since I went to law school, but my sense is that with adequate testing (that establishes that the new wall is safer than the old wall), this should not be a liability issue, because an injured player would not be able to establish negligence. Part of my suggested R&D budget of $500,000 would be devoted to extensive testing, first using crash dummies then using paid stunt people from Hollywood.

I believe that injuries to outfielders could be greatly reduced if the outfield padding at Target Field were replaced with high tech padding. One option would be to replace the existing padding with much thicker padding that has a layer of low density foam on the outside (facing the players) and thicker densities closer to the concrete wall. I have a mattress that came in a box that has this arrangement and believe that this approach could be adapted to baseball to cut the trauma from hitting the wall by 80% or more. Or the Twins could borrow from Hollywood stunt people and use technology based on the air bags and crash mats that lets stunt people fall from high places without injury. https://fall-pac.com/news/fall-protection-for-stunt-men/ Based on some rough math, I believe that for $500,000 of R&D, $1 million of manufacturing cost and $500,000 of installation costs, the Twins could have an outfield wall that could cut the injury rate by more than 50%, perhaps more than 90%. This would be peanuts compared with the loss of value if Buxton gets injured on the current wall. To me this is a lot like adding roll cages to race cars -- a small cost for a lot of safety. What value of WAR will be lost if Buxton gets injured by the wall? And I firmly believe that Royce Lewis would not have been hurt at all last year by his wall collision if the high tech wall had been in place. One small side benefit would be a slight home field advantage -- balls that hit the padding would tend to stick and die there, not bounce back into the field of play. The Twins players would develop expertise in dealing with that. Players from other teams would have to learn how to adapt, like with the ivy at Wrigley. Another side benefit would be that players could be more aggressive when they are near the wall, knowing that it is by far the safest wall on the planet. I believe that eventually all teams will have this. Why not get out in front of it and maybe even develop some patents to make other teams pay to get it?

Welcome to TD.

That *%&$ hit 3 home runs in the deciding game against the Twins. One of the more sickening days in my life, sitting in the left field bleachers while the Twins got blown away. Thanks for reminding me. ?

Great article. Great responses.

You held out for longer than me. I gave up last week.

The 2021 season was horrible, but there was some consolation to be had from getting relatively high draft picks this year. This year there was genuine reason the feel that the Twins could win the division, but next year's draft picks will be middle of the pack.

Thanks for your very educational posts. Do you think that it could be helpful if he could find a batting glove that absorbs more of the energy when he makes hard contact?

Not my favorite trip to Dodger stadium, and some of the defensive plays were painful to watch. As Rocco said, the Twins were outplayed in every facet of the game.

Probably won't be in first place much longer.

I am a big fan of physics. And I want Kirilloff to be a hall of famer.

Here is a link -- https://www.thestar.com/sports/2010/03/04/hightech_batting_gloves_get_thumbsup.html "Essentially it will reduce the impact by over 60 per cent, so a 100 mile-an-hour fastball will be reduced to that of a 39 mile-an-hour fastball, which is the difference between being in a cast and being a little bit sore," he said.

I think that the Twins should look into a high tech batting glove that absorbs more of the impact when he hits the ball.

Who is likely to be blocked for a while? Trade those players.

I agree with this, except I still have hope that he can realize his potential and the Twins don't miss out on another David Ortiz. I am wondering how long he can be kept in rehab. In my ideal world, he could play in AAA until people here are pleading for him to come up, and if that does not happen then he does not come up. I am wondering how long it will be before the Twins have to make a decision.

I hope that this is not a preview of the playoffs. The Twins need to get better.

Can we also get Walter Johnson, please?

Please stay out of Iowa until November. ?

My research suggests that padding ranges between 2" and 4". Do you think that he injury would have been equally severe if the padding had been 6" or 8". What if there was a 5" very soft level of padding placed over the existing padding?

Great summary of a frustrating game. Thanks, Sherry.

The bickering in this thread needs to stop.

Please stop stirring the pot. You have made your position clear. If you want to keep arguing then add something new.

TD posting policy forbids bickering. The bickering in this thread needs to stop.

That is a VERY comprehensive and well written article about Winder. Nice work.

Smeltzer got the job done tonight?